(Running Debian 'Testing' with kernel 2.4.18)

I chanced to read a copy of Linux Format magazine recently which had an article about security and appropriate software.

That prompted me to install PortSentry. But not long after that it occurred to me that I am already running a firewall (iptables) and, in theory, nothing undesirable should be getting through (I did say 'in theory'). Under those circumstances PortSentry would seem to be surplus to requirements so I uninstalled it again.

Is it overkill to run a firewall and PortSentry?

The same article also mentioned Saint (previously Satan) so I had a go at that. It lists a number of potential weaknesses on my system, lpd for example, but doesn't say what the potential weaknesses might be or how to fix them. How can I find out more on this?

This then prompted another train of thought. If inetd starts (and I assume stops) services such as Exim when an internet connection is established why do we need /etc/ppp/ip-up.d and ip-down.d to start and stop additional services. Why can't it all go in inetd (or Xinetd)?

Although I have a dial-up connection at the moment I am looking to the future to when I may have ADSL (should BT ever get round to my area - ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!) and a permanent connection.

Best wishes

Barry Samuels (My memory is so bad I suspect it was programmed by Microsoft)